


Red Riding Changkyun

by Quiet_crash



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Gen, Pack Dynamics, Pack Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-04-05 06:37:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14038344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quiet_crash/pseuds/Quiet_crash
Summary: It went something like this. Changkyun put on his beloved red cloak, packed a basket mostly full of food, threw in some trinkets, and set out on his weekly trek to visit his “grandmother Yeojoo, who lived in the woods”.Nobody had to know that Grandma Yeojoo was actually five grown men that, like Changkyun himself, occasionally turned into wolves. Then again if they did know then maybe he wouldn't be running for his life for eating himself right now.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I want to thank the mxcord for providing pics of Changkyun in red shirts and with silvery hair, thus kickstarting my muse and then cheering for me. You guys rock.
> 
> Now, I don't have a beta so let me know if you find any mistakes. I tried to weed them out but you know how it is with reading your own writing for the 100th time.
> 
> And lastly - enjoy!

Changkyun woke up at dawn.

 

It's not that he particularly enjoyed seeing the sun rise or anything, it's just that his house stood close to the forest – for practical reasons – and all these _wretched_ birds, they practically treated it as a some kind of extension. Thus his superior hearing, usually a very useful thing, made the morning birdsong an agonizing cacophony of screeches.

 

He cursed them heartily, stubbornly trying to block the sounds with his pillow and tugging the blanket over his head for a good measure but had to admit defeat when it started to get hard to breathe. Relative silence wasn't worth suffocation. Damn birds.

 

Today was a run day though. He'd show them, then, who was the boss of this place.

 

(In his twenties and chasing birds like a pup? Absolutely. There was no one to judge him here, anyway.)

 

Aside from that unpleasant but not exactly unusual morning hardship it was an entirely normal day. Changkyun rose, swallowing curses as he rubbed his sleep crusted eyes, threw on a simple outfit (not like there was much to choose from), ate breakfast, did his chores. Routine beginning to a new day. Nothing indicated that this day was the one on which everything would go to hell.

 

That is why, when it did go to hell, it was sheer luck that he didn't lose his head, literally, on the spot.

 

It went something like this. Changkyun put on his beloved red cloak, packed a basket mostly full of food, threw in some trinkets, and set out on his weekly trek to visit his “grandmother Yeojoo, who lived in the woods”.

 

At least that's what he told the villagers. It was a lie he'd come up with on the spot when someone asked him for the reason of his regular disappearances; he'd panicked and blurted out the first thing that came to his mind, mentally facepalming because even he could see the holes in his story. Nonetheless he'd managed to spin a tale of how his grandma is so old and weak – but not too old and weak to fend for herself in the forest – and how he, being the good grandson he is, goes visit her every week to keep her company and bring things she can't get by herself.

 

He almost stumbled when the very logical question came: “Why won't your grandma come live with you in the village then?”

 

Changkyun almost panicked for good, mind spinning, but then it came to him. He ducked his head a little and pouted just a little bit, saying, “My grandpa built the house. It's all she's got left of him now that he's dead.”

 

And thus were Changkyun's weekly runs saved.

 

The only problem was that from time to time people asked about his non-existent grandma but Changkyun learned to enjoy his little deception and had a whole host of stories prepared for such occasions. Most of them being altered versions of what happened to the real people he visited during his run days. It brought him an additional private source of entertainment because when he first began to seriously think about his story, he decided to model the grandma after the pack beta – Kihyun.

 

People in the village talked about how good of a grandson he was, taking care of his grandma and always speaking of her with a smile and Changkyun barely suppressed peals of laughter at the thought of Kihyun in a long skirt and with grey hair to complete his image of a nagging mother, chasing someone around with a wooden spoon.

 

A few years went by and his story was all developed and good and he was free to go on his runs and enjoy himself. Usually, he went some few dozens steps into the forest (to make sure nobody from the village would see him), put his clothes into the basket on top of the goods and transform. Then he would trot all the way to the pack lands, hand over the basket and take off to play – by himself or with the others. Chase birds and squirrels, roll around in flower fields, drink from streams, all the fun stuff.

 

He would come back in the evening on the same day, or sometime around noon next day and everything was good.

 

This time he went into the forest as usual, undressed, transformed, took his clothes into his mouth to deposit them into the basket and froze, hearing someone calling for him.

 

One of the villagers had come after him into the forest. Changkyun stayed still, barely breathing and praying he wouldn't be spotted but alas, lady luck was not on his side.

 

The moment the man's eyes met his, they both stopped for a beat, staring at one another – the villager frozen in the middle of a step and Changkyun standing like a statue with the clothes in his toothy maw.

 

And then it all went to hell.

 

The man gasped and suddenly started screaming bloody murder, swinging the hoe he'd been batting the ferns and branches away with when he walked. Changkyun managed to dodge the swipe, yelping and finally dropping the clothes into the basket; then he bit into the handle of the basket and took off. The man, still screaming, ran after him.

 

Changkyun was fast, he was a damn wolf, so theoretically he should have been able to outrun the human, lead him into the forest and then double back to shift back, ideally at his home because he would like to keep any suspicions from arising. Not to mention, he had some dignity. He mourned the lost chance of visiting his friends but he had to protect himself. He could always hide the basket and claim that he'd turned back because he saw the wolf as well.

 

But when he tried to go in the direction of his home, suddenly his way was barred by more villagers, and they were better armed than with hoes. He spied a few pitchforks and scythes. But what worried him most were the crossbows.

 

Changkyun dug his paws into the ground to stop his dash, dirt and leaves flying into the air. He whirled around to the sound of multiple bolts whizzing through the air in his direction, and felt one painfully scraping his shoulder blade when he stumbled, unused to racing with the basket dangling from his jaws, before he leaped behind the cover of an old oak tree trunk. He used it for a stepping stone, quickly putting on speed again before the pitchfork-bearers came close enough to be a danger too.

 

 _This is fucking ridiculous_ , was all he could think as he sprinted through the thick forest, barely dodging trees. He did dodge them because it would be a humiliating way to die – shot to death when dazed from running full speed into a tree trunk like a clumsy, blind pup, covered in flour and wine from the basket.

 

Well, not like this whole thing wasn't completely stupid anyway. He was being chased for eating Changkyun. Someone from the village had noticed him going into the forest and apparently had wanted to talk about some thing or other before Changkyun left. Went to look for him, found a big wolf with the clothes in its mouth.

 

What they hadn't noticed was – the shirt was clean and intact.

 

And that's because, and here's the kicker – Changkyun the boy _was also_ the wolf. And he preferred to take the shirt – tunic, more like (and definitely not a dress, fuck you Hoseok) – with him when he ran for the sake of decency and convenience – it's not like he turned back fully clothed. No, that would be just too good.

 

The thought of Hoseok made his heart hurt because his friend was one of the people chasing him right now. They'd met when they were kids. Hoseok has always been the muscular one, the sexy one, the one all the girls swooned after. Meanwhile, Changkyun was small, quiet, and kept to himself. Their beginnings, therefore, were somewhat rocky – like the relationships between shy wallflowers and popular lady killers tended to be. But Hoseok was, to Changkyun's eternal gratitude, not your stereotypical cool kid.

 

His muscular chest contained a proportionally big heart and so they became friends. Hoseok naturally took the younger, smaller boy under his wing, so to speak. And now that Changkyun was pronounced dead at the maw of a forest beast, Hoseok was the first to swear to hunt said beast and bring its head home to avenge its victim.

 

Changkyun would be very touched if it wasn't his own head that was being hunted for here. He should have told Hoseok, he berated himself, yelping when a bolt struck a tree he was just passing, raining pieces of bark and moss on his pelt. He should have trusted Hoseok more and told him of his… situation.

 

And the thing was, maybe Changkyun _would_ _have_ swallowed his fear and told his friend that his parents had given him one unusual gift at his birth, except that it wasn't just his secret to keep.

 

There was a pack of people like him, wolf shifters, living in these woods. Changkyun chose to remain in the village because he liked it, for one. After all the trouble he'd gone through to fit among those people, especially after befriending Hoseok, this place was his home even more so than the pack land in which he was born. Also, the pack benefited from having someone “on the other side”, so to speak. He could bring them things they needed without a risk of raising any suspicions.

 

The system worked great, except he was an idiot, an absolute fucking moron, and accidentally let someone see him in wolf form. The rest was, as they say, history.

 

Now, he was running for his life – literally – and feverishly thinking how to keep the hunting party as far away from the pack as possible.

 

...To be fair, though the pack was small and makeshift – it consisted of five members now – they were all great hunters and could, probably, take the villagers. But, for one, Changkyun didn't want to put that on them. Killing hares and deer for food was much different than murdering humans, even in self defence.

 

The villagers didn't deserve death either. Sure, they were trying to kill him, but only to avenge his death. _Gods, what a mess._

 

There was also no reason to risk accidental injuries or, gods forbid, any losses among the shifters. Not after all they've been through to get where they were now. No – Changkyun, though not technically part of the pack, still felt the same responsibility membership would bring and he would rather run through these forests all day and all night and never return to the village, than bring a hunting party onto the pack's territory.

 

Hyunwoo, the pack leader, abhorred senseless violence anyway. No, he brought this on himself and he'll deal with it also by himself.

 

He even had an idea how.

 

He prayed Kihyun would be able to patch him up afterwards and sped up.

 

–

 

The whole plan was more of a sketch. Basically, Changkyun banked on two facts. One – that people had work to do on their farms and fields so they wouldn't waste an entire day to run after him if he went sufficiently far away from the village.

 

And two – Hoseok would not be one of those people. Hoseok was like a bloodhound when it came to things like this. One time years ago some kid had made Changkyun cry. Hoseok had found out who it was and made them apologize publicly. Took him an entire day but he did it. So Changkyun had no doubt that for _killing_ him, Hoseok would hunt until he took the beast's life in revenge.

 

And Hoseok was a good hunter.

 

The plan was, essentially, to not die, lead his friend on a wild chase and then turn back human. That would, in theory, convince Hoseok that he was not dead and therefore didn't need to be killed.

 

_What a fucking mess._

 

Nonetheless his plan was going good, great even, up until the point of the reveal.

 

He forgot today was a scheduled run day. Run days meant visits to the pack. Which meant he wasn't the only one anticipating them. The pack also waited for him.

 

And when he failed to appear, they apparently took it upon themselves to find out why.

 

Again, he would be very touched, if not for the fact that just as he was preparing to shift (and praying to all the gods he wouldn't lose his friend over who he was, after all), he almost lost him to a completely different thing.

 

Hoseok's crossbow splintered and fell apart as Hyunwoo's jaws clamped on it, his huge paws crushing the man's chest into the forest floor, claws dangerously digging into the skin as Hoseok wheezed and tried to throw him off. Changkyun's jaw fell. He rushed to the grappling pair but Jooheon intercepted him, fluffy white fur puffed up and a snarl on his lips as he stood between the youngest shifter and the other two protectively.

 

Touching but unnecessary. Changkyun mourned his dignity and shifted.

 

“Don't hurt him!” he cried out as soon as he had the mouth to do it. “Hyunwoo, don't! It's okay, he's Hoseok!”

 

During the countless visits to the pack he's made they'd asked about his life in the village and of course he's mentioned Hoseok, who, all things considered, was a pretty big part of his life. Therefore, the pack members knew quite a lot about his best friend and liked him enough for someone they've never met.

 

Until now. It was shitty for a first meeting but at least everyone was still alive. Changkyun audibly sighed in relief when Hyunwoo paused and then carefully stepped off the human's chest. Finally, Hoseok was able to take a deeper breath. He coughed, gasping for a moment, and then slowly sat up. Both wolves kept their sharp eyes on him but Hoseok, though tense and unsettled by their presence, only had eyes for one person.

 

“Changkyun?” His voice was small and on the verge of breaking. This one word told Changkyun all he needed to know about Hoseok's feelings.

 

They always did run deep.

 

He nodded quickly and sent his friend a somewhat sheepish smile, continuing to hide his nudity behind Jooheon's body. Hoseok's breath audibly hitched at the sight of that smile. It was one he saw frequently from the younger boy because Changkyun was an awkward, crazy kid and sometimes did stupid things, always giving Hoseok the same sheepish grin when he came to his aid.

 

It was how Changkyun grinned at him after he fell off the leaking roof of his house, from where he'd been trying to fix it by himself, and Hoseok barely managed to catch the idiot. Or when he tried to carry several heavy bags of flour in one go and almost faceplanted on the ground under their weight before Hoseok took half of the load (rather effortlessly too, which Changkyun couldn't hide his envy about).

 

Seeing this grin now, Hoseok had no choice but to believe that the Changkyun standing before him was his Changkyun. But how? Only one explanation came to his mind and it made his head spin.

 

“Uh, I swear I will explain everything,” Changkyun spoke up, “but I need you to come with these guys, okay? And _don't_ freak out, please. I lost my shoes and I'm not gonna walk in the forest barefoot.”

 

Not waiting for Hoseok to voice his obvious confusion, Changkyun shifted back into his wolf.

 

Hoseok whimpered.

 

Changkyun stepped around Jooheon slowly, nudging the white wolf in the side in playful thanks. The older shifter tossed his head in lieu of rolling his eyes but licked his cheek and finally let Changkyun get closer to the still seated human. Changkyun was very slow in his approach, reading Hoseok like a book.

 

Guy was on a brink of a mental breakdown.

 

He stopped a good few paces away and huffed quietly, [gaze](https://78.media.tumblr.com/516506aa9e502b7a3e5f4db062db775b/tumblr_inline_opw8onmoTU1qdmftd_540.jpg) boring into Hoseok's eyes.

 

Hoseok swallowed with difficulty, and weakly uttered “Chankgyun?” again.

 

Again, Changkyun frantically nodded. From the sidelines Jooheon's amused snort could be heard but Changkyun ignored that, busy pleading his friend to accept him with his eyes only.

 

Hoseok folded like wet tissue paper. He was always weak for this, said Changkyun looked like a child when he opened his eyes really wide and stared. It seemed that no matter the body, the power of the stare remained the same.

 

“Oh gods,” Hoseok whined, closing his eyes tightly and pushing the heels of his hands into his eyeballs for a few seconds until stars burst in his vision. Then he looked again.

 

Nope, still a wolf. The same wolf he'd spent an entire afternoon chasing after. “Oh gods,” he whined again, eyes filling with tears. The wolf – Changkyun – made an alarmed noise and flailed awkwardly, moving as if he wanted to come closer but not sure if it would be well taken. “I almost killed you!” Hoseok wailed finally, utterly horrified.

 

The tension vanished in a flash. Changkyun barked and pranced closer, butting his _cold, wet_ nose into his friend's face and neck trying to comfort him, yipping happily when Hoseok scrunched his own nose in disgust and grabbed at his silvery fur, tugging him closer and burying his face into his chest.

 

“Holy shit, you _asshole_! Why didn't you tell me?!” he muttered, annoyed. Changkyun only whined, seeing as he had no mouth to answer with, but his previously wagging tail drooped in regret. Hoseok remained with his face pressed to Changkyun's chest for a long moment, breathing in the scent of dog and forest and taking comfort in the steady beat of Changkyun's heart. Finally, he murmured, “Well, you promised to spill your guts now, didn't you? I can't wait to hear it.”

 

Hoseok squeezed him one more time and let him go, climbing to his feet. Changkyun whined again, just to make sure his regret was conveyed in its entirety.

 

Hoseok sighed heavily, disarmed by the pitiful picture. “I'm going to kick your ass, just you wait, you twig” he murmured fondly.

 

Changkyun's sheepish human grin was not in any way similar to the wolf's tongue lolling out the side of his toothy maw but, somehow, Hoseok knew exactly that that was its canine equivalent.

 

He just knew and he questioned his sanity.

 

Meanwhile, Changkyun, immensely proud of how that all played out, puffed his chest out, looking to where Hyunwoo and Jooheon were observing everything with badly hidden amusement.

 

Hyunwoo was, at least, making use of the limited expressiveness of the canine body and sat still as a noble statue. His eyes were soft though, and ears perked up. That told Changkyun how happy he was with the situation. Jooheon on the other hand, was positively trembling from the effort of containing his delight. He was panting, his tongue lolling out and his eyes sparkling warmly.

 

Changkyun nudged Hoseok in their direction as Hyunwoo stood and shook the dirt that clung to his fair coat off before turning and trotting off in the direction of the pack's land.

 

Jooheon pounced in place, front paws hitting the ground insistently to hurry them.

 

Changkyun grabbed the forgotten basket. Immediately, automatically, Hoseok reached out his hand offering to take the heavy thing off his scrawny friend. He paused and blinked, remembering that Changkyun was not very scrawny at that moment, but the wolf only huffed in glee and handed the basket over. Hoseok grimaced, feeling how the handle was all wet with wolf spit and gross. He shot Changkyun a glare and in response got a happy bark as Changkyun trotted off, unburdened, tail swishing and hitting Hoseok's side in passing.

 

Yeah, that was his Changkyun.

 

–

 

Changkyun was simultaneously proud and annoyed that Hoseok kept up with the wolves. He had his satisfaction though, when, having arrived at the house hidden deep in the woods, Hyunwoo and Jooheon casually shifted in front of them.

 

Hoseok straight out squeaked trying not to stare at the two as they walked into the house. Changkyun barked after them, annoyed. He, for now, stayed with his friend, doing his best to keep him from experiencing that mental breakdown.

 

He came close to failing when Kihyun came out of the house to receive them. He took the basket from Changkyun's tense friend and fished the boy's red cloak out of it, holding it out spread and ready to wrap around him. Changkyun nosed at him, thankful, and changed back, swiftly pulling the cloak on. Kihyun ruffled his hair and then turned to stare at Hoseok, whose face clearly read discomfort.

 

“Is he a werewolf too?” he asked tentatively.

 

Kihyun bristled, glaring up at Hoseok. “We're no werewolves. We're _shapeshifters_ , you better remember that. And yes, I am one too.”

 

“Kihyun, this is Hoseok,” Changkyun said, grinning. “Be gentle with him, he's new to this stuff.”

 

“Oh, this is your Hoseok?” Kihyun's glare diminished somewhat. “So you've finally told him?”

 

“Uh… not exactly...”

 

Immediately the glare returned, but this time aimed at Changkyun. Kihyun looked between the two of them for a moment before he sighed. “Lets just go inside. We'll talk there.”

 

–

 

The inside of the house was nice. It was a small dwelling, initially belonging to Changkyun's parents, who had lived there alone. When Changkyun was born he lived there too, for a few years, before his father died, injured by a boar he'd tried to hunt, leaving his mother to care for him alone. She decided to move to the nearby human village, where she could count on the support of the community to help her keep her son fed and safe.

 

She died a few years ago, from fever. Changkyun wasn't allowed to be with her during her illness and stayed with Hoseok and his family. The older boy did his best to help Changkyun find himself again after she passed. They grew even closer, and Hoseok even more protective of the younger boy.

 

It seemed Changkyun had that effect on people in general, though. These five shapeshifters, as Kihyun insisted to be called, were certainly a good example. Changkyun barely winced when an enthusiastic blonde man attached himself to him in a welcoming hug, knocking Changkyun backwards into Hoseok's chest, but it was all it took for everyone present to immediately fuss over the scrape found on the boy's shoulder blade. Changkyun fended them off as well as he could, whining that it barely even bled, the bolt just scraped the skin off his shoulder. Nonetheless Kihyun insisted on examining the “wound” closely and putting a salve on it, while Hoseok kept the squirming boy immobile. He knew well, from years of experience, how well Changkyun dealt with being fussed over.

 

As soon as Kihyun was done, Hoseok opened his arms and Changkyun dived for the basket, pulling his clothes out and running off to get properly dressed.

 

That taken care of, introductions commenced. Hyunwoo was the leader of their pack and the one to speak up first. His was a very calming presence, peaceful until provoked. But when provoked it was best to stay out of his way. His human body and his wolf both were large and more muscled than any other in their pack, and Hyunwoo knew well how to make use of his strength. He was also the eldest and thus had the most experience.

 

Kihyun was next, introducing himself as the beta of the pack, grinning sharply. His job was to keep the other members in line and by the gods, he excelled at it and found no small amount of satisfaction in bossing them around. He was the smallest in stature but his claws were razor sharp.

 

Next went Jooheon. He was the youngest in the pack, aside from the omega, Changkyun, and Hoseok was immediately charmed by his dimpled grin. Jooheon, despite the first impression he made – very snarly – was actually, arguably, the softest member of the pack. It became very quickly apparent when he let the blond man hang on to him without much protest. He even apologized for scaring Hoseok, back in the forest. Hoseok forgave him immediately because in his place, he would have done the same. In fact, he _had been_ doing the same, or at least he thought he had.

 

Minhyuk, the blond who had so enthusiastically welcomed Changkyun home, bounced, introducing himself. Minhyuk was an enthusiastic person in general, Hoseok learned quickly. Like concentrated sunshine, his presence lit up the room. He was friendly and open and, frankly, shameless but it was all part of his charm. In the pack he was the one to make sure everyone felt loved and cherished. He was a little mistrustful of strangers though. The moment he learned Hoseok's identity though, he suddenly took his face in his hands, stared into his eyes intensely focused for a full minute, and then _licked him on the nose_ while _human_ , announcing “I like him!”, and grinning rougishly.

 

Changkyun groaned. He'd worked so hard to keep Hoseok from that mental breakdown...

Hoseok, understandably put off by having a virtual stranger putting his tongue on his face, stumbled, backing away, and accidentally stepped on Hyungwon's tail where it lay flowing off the couch on which he'd been napping as a wolf, and subsequently almost lost his hand to Hyungwon's retributive snap. The poor man let out a single high whimper and broke down.

 

Changkyun spent the next fifteen minutes apologizing, comforting him and glaring at the others. Minhyuk responded by sending him a radiant, toothy grin. Kihyun smacked him upside the head and prepared Hoseok some tea.

 

Hyungwon was, at least, contrite. He disappeared for a few minutes and came back not a dark chocolate wolf anymore, but a tall, lanky man with puffy lips and dark, sweet eyes, apologizing for the way he'd snapped at Hoseok.

 

To Changkyun's amusement, Hoseok forgave Hyungwon immediately, staring as if transfixed at the way Hyungwon smiled in response before timidly asking for his name.

 

 _If only the girls from the village could see him now,_ Changkyun thought to himself, grinning.

 

Then Hyungwon, who'd slept through Jooheon's original tale at entering and the entire introduction, and therefore was utterly clueless as to who was this person – as big as Hyunwoo but huddled into Changkyun's side like Jooheon when something startled him – returned the question.

 

Thus Hoseok introduced himself and then Changkyun neatly took over, explaining the entire incident himself to make sure no one would hold any grudges.

 

The pack was quite amused with the kill-Changkyun-to-avenge-Changkyun misunderstanding but Kihyun clucked his tongue and scolded the boy for being careless. Changkyun had the grace to looks sheepish, promising future betterment.

 

And, Hoseok thought to himself, of course in the future nothing like this would happen. He was in the know now, and he'd keep an eye out for the dummy, like he always did.

 

–

 

By the time all the talking was done with, night came. Hyunwoo offered Hoseok to spend the night at the house, solemnly promising no more _incidents_. (Minhyuk hissed a triumphant _yess_ ; he knew it meant Hyunwoo would have him sleep in his room so he could keep and eye on him and Minhyuk would use this situation to get some quality cuddles – Hyunwoo was _so_ cuddly.)

 

A minor bump in the road came when Kihyun announced that it was time to prepare supper and Hoseok must have made a peculiar face because Changkyun nudged him, whispering “what's wrong?”

 

“Please tell me it's not, like, raw meat or something,” Hoseok begged. “I'm not sure I could take it.”

 

Changkyun barely suppressed a snicker, assuring him that Kihyun was an excellent cook, actually, and he was in for a feast because the pack's beta would surely want to show off for a guest.

 

He wasn't wrong. By the time they stood from the table Hoseok was sure he gained at least four kilograms. He made up for the werewolf comment by praising the food and Kihyun gracefully accepted the praise with an air of someone who knew he did well and revelled in the recognition of his talent, though his “thank you” was polite and smile sweet.

 

Hyunwoo lent him some clothes (as he was the only one whose clothes were big enough to fit on Hoseok's frame) and despite the day's revelations – or maybe because of all the excitement – Hoseok was out like a light, burrowed in fresh smelling sheets and with Changkyun cuddled up to his side.

 

Changkyun wasn't _that_ cuddly most of the time, but today he'd come to Hoseok to talk more and make sure there were no more misunderstandings between them. He stood shyly at the foot of the bed until Hoseok opened the blankets to let him in.

 

“I'm not angry at you,” Hoseok assured him. “Maybe just a little bit hurt you didn't feel like you could trust me enough to tell me.”

 

Changkyun bit his lip. “I wanted to. You have no idea how many times I thought about it but...” he hesitated before continuing, “I was scared. Because, well, I'm kind of not entirely human. And that, you know, might be off-putting and you are my best friend. I didn't want to chance losing you. My mom, before she met my dad, had had to run away from her home because she was found out and people came to her home in the middle of the night trying to kill her. When you're told this kind of story as a child it tends to stick.”

 

“You won't lose me,” Hoseok soothed him. “I'm pretty sure there's nothing you could do to make me stop being your friend. I know you, Changkyun, and I like to think I know you pretty well, so I know that you're a good guy, no matter the occasional fur.”

 

Changkyun smiled at him, so wide and genuine his dimples showed, and Hoseok ruffled his hair before forcing his head down onto his chest. “Sleep, kid.”

 

“Good night, Hoseokie,” Changkyun whispered.

 

“Good night, Kyunie.”

 

–

 

The main room of the cottage was full of lounging shifters and one human boy, all happily resting as their bodies digested Kihyun's food. It's been a few weeks since that fateful first meeting. Hoseok had returned to the village leading Changkyun and toting the chewed up basket.

 

They explained, to the amazed villagers, that Changkyun had not been eaten by the wolf. He'd seen the animal and abandoned the basket, hoping it would distract the beast and let him escape unscathed. Hoseok found him on his way back after supposedly killing the wolf.

 

Since then Hoseok tagged along to Changkyun's weekly visits to “grandma”, officially to keep him safe. In reality he just wanted to spend more time with the pack. Those people were hilarious and they welcomed him readily.

 

This was one such visit.

 

“Wait,” Hoseok's eyes popped open as he was suddenly struck by a thought. “There's no grandma Yeojoo.”

 

Changkyun snorted. “No.”

 

“Grandma Yeojoo?” Jooheon perked up in curiosity, turning his big eyes on the pack's omega in a silent plea for a story.

 

“Yeah, it's what I told the villagers to get away with disappearing every week to come up here with food and whatnot – that I'm visiting my grandmother who lives alone in the woods and needs her grandson to help her,” Changkyun explained, a small grin playing on his lips.

 

“That's ridiculous,” Kihyun scrunched his nose.

 

“And they believed you?” Hyungwon asked, incredulously.

 

“Yeah,” Changkyun giggled.

 

“But it doesn't make any sense!” Minhyuk guffawed. “I can't believe it!”

 

“Yeah well, this little shit can be very convincing when he wants to,” Hoseok grumbled, somewhat grumpy since he, too, had believed the younger boy. “He made up Grandma Yeojoo's whole life story, complete with an affair in her youth and eventual elopement with Grandpa Namjoo, who was a rich heir but left his old life to come live with her in the wilderness.”

 

The gathered boys cooed. “Oh, Changkyun! That's so romantic, I didn't know you had it in you!” Minhyuk cackled.

 

“Shut up,” Changkyun hissed, red creeping up his cheeks.

 

“That's not all,” Hoseok said gleefully, happy to be able to get back at the younger boy for the lie. “Grandma Yeojoo loved her husband so much that after he died, she chose to live at the house alone so she could stay close to him.”

 

“What's she like?” Jooheon asked, completely delighted.

 

“Well, she's short, so Changkyun helps her get things off the high shelves that Grandpa Namjoo used to get for her,” Hoseok shared, causing everyone to crack up.

 

“Oh, Kyunnie,” Hyungwon giggled, looking at the embarrassed boy whose short stature was a running joke around the pack; they sometimes called him 'puppy' just to tease him about how he was the youngest and the smallest among them.

 

Changkyun was beginning to resemble a tomato. “Stop it,” he whined at Hoseok but the elder was not even close to finished.

 

“Yeah,” he continued after the laughter died down some, evil smile forming on his lips “Grandma Yeojoo is a whole character. She nags incessantly, which is why Changkyun only comes visit her once a week. She looks dainty but she can pack a punch and her favourite weapon is her wooden spoon, because she's a great cook.”

 

Changkyun felt himself pale as a small wrinkle appeared on Kihyun's forhead.

 

“Nooo, stop it,” he whined anxiously. Hoseok paid him no mind.

 

“She's a spry little woman,” he continued his tale. “She sometimes chops wood for herself and there was that one time she chased Changkyun around with her spoon because he forgot to take his shoes off and tracked dirt into the house, screaming: 'I just sweeped the floors, you brat!'”

 

Kihyun chuckled at that but there was no hint of cheer in the sound. Changkyun squeaked and crawled behind Hoseok's broad back, peeking out at the beta with wide eyes.

 

The room held its breath.

 

They all remembered that particular day. It had been raining for the entire week and the forest was wet, the ground soggy. Kihyun had taked advantage of the first rain-less day in a while and had the house aired and cleaned from top to bottom.

 

And then Changkyun came, muddy and dirty as if he ran through every single puddle on his way and rolled around in the mud for good measure, strolling into the house and shaking his fur off right in the middle of this very room.

 

Kihyun had been livid.

 

“Grandma Yeojoo, you say,” the beta said now, slowly advancing towards the cowering omega, an unnatural smile stretching his lips to show off his sharp teeth. “Short, nags and chases you around with a spoon, hm?”

 

“No, no, I swear it's just a coincidence,” Changkyun whimpered.

 

“I'm sure it is,” Kihyun said agreeably. “It just so happens that, coincidentally, my claws are itching something awful right now. I think I've found a good scratching post, though,” Kihyun said and leaped, shifting in mid-air.

 

Hoseok quickly got out of the way, Hyungwon pulling him to himself protectively before he realized what he did and stuttered awkwardly, blushing.

 

Meanwhile Changkyun let out a truly impressive shriek and tumbled off the couch, Kihyun's dark grey wolf form crushing him to the ground as he assaulted the boy with nips and licks all over his face.

 

Changkyun tried to escape the rough tongue bath but he only managed to tangle himself in his own blanket. Instead, he continued to wail and beg for help, helplessly squirming and scrunching his face up in the most adorable way.

 

That, and the fact that nobody messed with Kihyun when he administered his punishments, was probably why no one so much as tried to help him.

 

That, or the way everyone was wheezing with laughter on the very same floor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> introspection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's bad, folks, life is bad. I'm more or less managing my grief for the most part so I've become the support system my mom needs, try to take on as much of dad's tasks as I can and meanwhile exams are still very much not finished with me. I wish I could just fuck all this and go live in a penthouse with a spectacular view somewhere, read a few books, watch the sky, whatever. Shit's tiring.
> 
> Anyway here's a 1am production born from an urgent need to distract myself from the numerous problems hanging over my head. It's short but I'm easing myself into integrating parts of the Before into the After. No need to speed through that.

Changkyun lives a double life: that of a village boy and that of a forest beast. He is both at once but most of all - he is a child at heart. It's all Hoseok sees in his silly grins and annoyed whines. It takes a short while before he looks past the sharp teeth and muscled, clawed paws and the sheer size of Changkyun's wolf shape - but constant exposure to that part of him, and of the others, all of whom are actually noticeably bigger than Changkyun in either human or wolf skin, and suddenly Hoseok catches himself referring to Changkyun like Kihyun and Minhyuk do on occassion - "puppy".   
  
Puppy - a creature inherently adorable and helpless, a little dumb but innocent and trusting. Changkyun is undeniably a little dumb (sometimes) and adorable as all hell. Hoseok can't say he's helpless - that would be unfair and honestly not very true - but he accepts help from Hoseok more readily than from anyone else and it makes Hoseok feel priviledged because it's connected to the last point. Trust. Changkyun doesn't trust easily. He doesn't open up to just anyone, preferring to keep his distance and his secrets safe. But he's let Hoseok in and trusts him with everything. His safety, his life - even the safety of the pack.  
  
That is why Hoseok catches himself referring to Changkyun as "puppy" and stops, disconcerted that he's done his closest friend a disservice, called him a child when Changkyun is by far the most mature boy in the village.  
  
It just slips though. How can it not when he's sitting on the porch, panting after a play fight with a wolf pack, Hyunwoo sprawled next to him comfortably, and observes the others still rolling around in the dirt without a single care in the world. Changkyun is sticking his butt in the air, wiggling before he pounces on Jooheon, who is distracted by Minhyuk prancing around him, and something just melts in Hoseok's chest.  
  
It's a picture of innocent joy and Changkyun so rarely allows himself to truly express his feelings in the village. The realisation came a while ago but it keeps getting strengthened every time Hoseok sees Changkyun in his wolf shape, surrounded by the others.  
  
Living in the village, being human, interacting with other humans, it's something Changkyun has learned to be proficient at; even enjoys it sometimes (see: the grandma story). But it's only once he sheds all the human responsibilities and dons a skin that connects him to nature that his eighteen years of age become apparent.  
  
He comes beg for cuddles and scritches, he plops himself on Hoseok's lap and falls asleep there, he drags Hoseok on adventures to his favourite places in the forest and generally is a cute lil shit. It's like when he's a wolf he loses some of his inhibitions.   
  
"It makes sense," Hyunwoo hums, watching his pack playing with a content, fond expression on his face. "He lives alone in the village and he has to take care of himself and of our secret. Even with your support it must be a lot. But here he was always the omega, the youngest, and there were no secrets to keep track of. If anything, we coddled him too much," the pack leader admits. "We still do but as long as he's fine with it..." The man shrugs.  
  
Hoseok can't fault him at all. "He's such a little shit but it's impossible to say no to him," he laughs.  
  
Hoseok wonders if this is what having a little brother feels like. Changkyun drives him up the wall sometimes but he knows he'd never have it any other way.  
  
\--  
  
Changkyun is fucking heavy, no matter the shape, when he makes himself comfortable on Hoseok's lap and takes a nap. It doesn't take very long before Hoseok's legs begin to hurt and he longs to be released.  
  
"Just push him off." Kihyun rolls his eyes at him and Hoseok sends him a look of pure outrage.  
  
Clearly, the pack beta doesn't understand. Changkyun would probably be so much more comfortable sleeping with any of his wolf pack but he's chosen Hoseok to snuggle up to. And Hoseok is so touched he would rather go numb from head to toe than disturb the boy's slumber.  
  
Plus, he's warm. And cute. Hoseok must fight a battle to keep his hands from playing with Changkyun's velvety ears. They twitch from time to time and it's too much for a man to take, it's precious.  
  
"Hey, Changkyunnie," Hyungwon calls softly from somewhere in the house. "It's almost time to eat, come and wash your hands!"  
  
Changkyun yawns widely, sliding off Hoseok's numb legs and stretching. His paws splay, claws digging into the earth beneath before he shakes himself off and transforms. Hoseok immediately hands him a cloak - he's taken to bringing one with him everywhere when he's at the pack grounds. Changkyun throws it on quickly.  
  
"Thanks!" he chirps and dashes off towards the promise of food.  
  
Hoseok snorts at the kid and then hisses when his legs are flooded with possibly the worst case of pins and needles in his life.  
  
He'll stay here a moment longer, he decides. Just a moment. Hopefully.


End file.
